Theseus Verbatim

For bass-baritone and cello
Performed by Theo Trevisan and Olivia Marckx
November 25, 2024, Los Angeles, CA

Text: 73 quotes from the TV show “Survivor”, seasons 1-45; see below for full text or this spreadsheet for more details.

 The inspiration for Theseus Verbatim coalesced from a few different sources.  Ever since I performed a piece for my voice and cello this past summer, I wanted to work with that instrumentation due to how similar our timbres and ranges are.  I was also frustrated by the lack of new repertoire that fits my voice type well, since I usually have to contort to singing music written for either bass or baritone rather than using my full range.  

Additionally, after having written several pieces that repeat limited text extensively, I wanted to try the opposite and create a massive text out of many short quotes.  That approach led to applying the concept of the Ship of Theseus, where small parts of a whole are gradually replaced until no pieces of the original are left, to the traditional notion of an art song freezing one character or emotion in time.  Olivia’s suggestions for cello repertoire to research also led me to think about hybridizing the idioms of vocal art song and cello show pieces. 

I used 74 quotes from the TV show Survivor for a few reasons: I’ve spent far too many hours of my life watching that show to not use it eventually (pandemic binge watch), there are lots of structural similarities between otherwise different quotes, and some of the best quotes from the show are even more bizarre and entertaining when taken out of context.

Text:

“I didn’t come here to make friends.”
“I didn’t know they made such an animal.”
“I didn’t have any food, no fire, had the best time of my life.”
“I was in the American branch.  It’s called ‘freedom.’”
“I was watching Treasure Island.”
“I was thinking I really wanna steam, like, a big, like, sea bass.”
“This is a business trip, as I like to say.”
“I like to have chaos.  And I like to have trouble.”
“Like, I come off like a little brat.”
“Puzzles lie down for me like lovers.”
“I used all my coconut husks like an idiot.”
“As a coconut vendor, I seek truth.  I’m a seer of real.”
“I’m a former special Agent.”
“I’m sorry, I don’t talk llama.  I’m supposed to talk llama to you.” [llama noises]
“I’m as confused as a goat on astroturf.”
“I’m curious about the demographics of Slamtown.”
“I’m the pawn.  I told you, I’m the swing vote.”
“I’m not Batman.  I’m the Canadian.”
“I’m not old.  I’m 34 going on 12.”
“I’m not crazy, I’m confident.”
“I’m tempted to say that she has, like, a vanilla personality, but I feel like that would be doing a great disservice to the flavor vanilla.”
“She’s so solid, she’s buried in Hoover Dam.”
“She is so busy at just trying to look busy.”
“She hasn’t stopped talking since we got here.”
“She looks like the female Mike Tyson out here.”
“He’s no Mike Tyson.”
“He’s like a bandy legged little troll.”
“And now he’s a nude cartoon character.”
“He lies.  But he also tells the truth, too.”
“He’s become the molecular substrate of this island.”
“This is MY island.”
“My plan is to lie to everyone and to control their emotions.”
“My Blackberry is awesome.”
“My parents call me Coach.”
“In America, my name is normal.”
“My question to you is… how does that resonate with you in the bedroom?”
“How am I the mobster?”
“How did we come up with the criteria for brains?”
“Did you say who it’s for?”
“Did you win an immunity?”
“What’s two immunities?”
“What the heck is a pace?”
“What is the most selfish beast on the planet?  A college-age male.”
“What’s his name?  What was his birth name?  It wasn’t Coach, it was Benjamin.  And you know they’re children; 26, 22, they’re over there listening to all of Benjamin’s… Halloween Jokes, uh Chuckie the Cheese Jokes, they -euh, they want it…”
“They just think I’m a meathead.  But I’m filet mignon, and they’re a bunch of Steak-umms.”
“If you were to say you can have filet mignon, or you can see your assistant coach for 10 minutes, I’d see my assistant coach.”
“If he switches he’s gonna get beat up, which is a legitimate thing for a dodgeball target to be afraid of.”
“If we don’t stick together, I’ll have to break somebody’s kneecaps.”
“If this vote goes the way I am expecting it to go… I will be shocked.”
“If you ever go to Vegas, always bet on black.”
“If you wanna be appreciated, shut up.”
“You’re as mentally strong as that rock.”
“You get to milk your own milk, I guess.”
“You better relax, bro!”
“You turn your eye, and one of your tools are missing.”
“You know I was able to secure rice for the last 11 days.”
“10 days is 2 weeks.”
“YOU HAVE MADE MY LIFE HELL FROM DAY ONE!”
“We did have a little beef, but… now we’re gonna make it to the promised land together… and have a prime time story.”
“We lost by a bunch of rules.”
“We got enough rocks here, too!”
“We need to be subversive, we need to implant counter intelligence.”
“We’re Americans.  And we’re gonna do democracy.”
“We’re sittin’ in the outhouse, drinking wine.”
“We’re like chicken parm and tuna fish.  It just didn’t taste good.”
“It’s definitely a goal to eat and steal as much food as I can.”
“It’s 600 grand by the time Obama takes it!”
“It’s called Operation Let Other People Crash and Burn.”
“It’s not a recommended strategy by any legal authority.”
“It’s all one for one, and whoever sticks together, and from this point on, makes it farthest in the game.  But I thrive on the pressure to come back in the game… for revenge, basically.”